Page 2 of Introducing Mrs. Collins
‘He proposed to Elizabeth only days ago! You must understand my misgivings?’
‘I do not relish that history either, Mother!’ replied Charlotte hotly. ‘I’m not delighted that he was interested in my friend before he noticed me; I do realise it is not the romantic ideal. Nobody will be writing about this union in novels or committing it to poetry. I shall not recount these details to my grandchildren as a touching story. But I will not allow my pride at being second choice to stop me from taking up what I believe to be a good opportunity.’
Her mother nodded rather sadly.
This irritated Charlotte more. ‘Mother – I am engaged! This ishappynews.’ Charlotte didn’t look happy; she looked livid. ‘I do not wish to console you on my choice of husband.Youshould becongratulatingme. It is a good offer—’ Charlotte started to say, then added more bitterly, ‘It is an offer.’
Her mother did not answer immediately. She occasionally regretted the extent to which her daughter had inherited her practicality. She sometimes wished she had raised Charlotte to have more whimsy, more naivety. Lady Lucas herself had married for love and, while not regretting it, had known enough financial constraint to want security for her daughter. But she also wanted love for her. And she knew this was not it – she didn’t even need to ask.
Charlotte now had tears in her eyes and a reddened cheek. Mothers can have this effect on daughters, at any age and in any situation. No matter the fierce and independent women they grow into, daughters still long for their mother’s approval, and Charlotte was still waiting for hers, frustrated and a little hurt.
Lady Lucas looked closely at her eldest daughter, her first-born – her favourite, in truth. She moved closer to her, holding out her hands, and Charlotte instinctively reached out and took them. They stood together, eye to eye, as her mother tenderly moved a stray hair off her face.
Lady Lucas sighed. ‘You deserve the world, Charlotte. But we do not always get what we deserve. Our task in this life to is to find happiness in what we are afforded and to improve what we find.’
Charlotte’s mother had a great many idioms and proverbs at hand for every occasion, many of which she had rendered in embroidery and hung over the mantelpiece. They were mostly lessons in stoicism and had certainly had an impact on Charlotte’s outlook, even if they made for rather drab decoration.
Charlotte nodded. ‘Iknow. That is why I—’
‘I know, I know. It is a good offer,’ said Lady Lucas more encouragingly. ‘I understand. You will have your own household, your own society and, God willing, children. The gift of children is worth putting up with a great deal. I will only ask you once more, and then will never repeat it, I promise:are you sure?’
Charlotte’s eyes were dry now, and her heart had calmed. She came back to herself, rather harder and more resolved. ‘It is a good match. I knew my mind when I accepted, and I shall remain firm on it. I shall have a home of my own. I shall start a life of my own. I have made my choice.’
CHAPTER II
Charlotte Lucas had not been offered many choices in her life. As the eldest of seven siblings, living still in her parent’s busy home – which had more good standing than it did income – she had been shaped into a woman who was above all rational. And like many rational women, she was somewhat undervalued.
Her family’s circumstancesappearedrather elevated, but while her father was now a knight, his background had been in trade. He had risen first to mayor, from the influence accorded to him through his success in business, and from there, he had managed to propel himself to his current status. He was very gracious in his new position, displaying the confidence and merriness that had helped get him there, and even his appearance suited it: red-faced, rotund and tall, he was the picture of a beneficent gentleman. But once knighted, he had found a disgust for the business that made his fortune, and he had turned his back on it altogether, thinking those days behind him and beneath him. This had not been a wise or timely decision, as his wife had warned him, but his optimism trumped her caution, and Lady Lucas had not felt secure in their fortune since that time. If her husband could be elevated, he could as easily fall again, and she had readied herself and her children for such an event.
Charlotte had been raised in this careful, watchful spirit. She was diligent in her studies, not just to give off the air of being accomplished but because her future might yet require the ability to teach. She was helpful in the kitchen, not only to have awell-rounded knowledge of food and flavours, but because extra help was necessary. She was patient, not only with her siblings and with her friends but with her own prospects.
Love suffereth long…
Not only was this another of her mother’s embroidered moral decorations, but it was a phrase Charlotte had heard in church on countless occasions.
Love suffereth long and is kind. Love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up.The passage from Corinthians made its way into almost every marriage service.
‘The bride looks like she suffereth long and is a little puffed up,’ Charlotte had once whispered to Elizabeth at a friend’s wedding. Elizabeth had snorted, attracting disapproving looks across the pews. Charlotte had kept a straight face – always the good girl to all appearances.
So, Charlotte knew that she, too, must suffer long. Over many years, she had watched friends and cousins find their partner and marry and move away from her and make a life of their own. Sometimes, they stayed within the neighbourhood; sometimes, they moved to another part of the country entirely or, in one case, to Woking, which was worse. She had found herself looking upon these partnerships and departures with a detached air, enough that she had almost made a study of it: the art of securing a proposal. She enjoyed espousing her theories of courtship to friends, in part to mask the fact that she’d had no experience of it herself. She had many views on romantic love and yet had never felt it. She was, in truth, sceptical that it existed, which made it much easier for her to be logical about it.
Charlotte had never been courted. She had read about love in literature (and even, occasionally, in the scandal sheets) and had wondered when it would come for her, but it never did. Neither from her nor towards her. And so, she had decided she was an unromantic person, a woman for whom love held no interest.
But shewasinterested in marriage. Marriage had the potential to offer her more freedoms and more security – an attractive combination – and it was one of the few choices afforded to a young woman of her standing. But Charlotte, at twenty-seven, having beenoutfor ten years, had begun to realise that she was unlikely to receive even that choice. No option had ever been presented to her.
Until today.
The next morning, Charlotte set off for Longbourn, wrapped up warm, steeling herself for the winter winds and for Elizabeth’s reaction, uncertain which would be colder.
She had been determined that the news of her engagement would not reach Elizabeth’s ears unless it was from herself. The greatest threat to this was Mr Collins himself; he had been residing at Longbourn, Elizabeth’s family home, for the past fortnight, but Charlotte had entreated him to keep their engagement quiet until his departure, and he had set off this very morning.
Charlotte Lucas and Elizabeth Bennet had first met five years earlier and in spite of the seven years that separated them in age, had taken a liking to one another almost instantaneously. While Jane, the eldest Bennet sister, was the more natural companion for Charlotte; closer to her in age, and in temperament, it was Elizabeth who proved to be the right match. While it was obvious to all of Meryton society that the pair shared a sense of humour, their friendship had deeper roots. In Charlotte, Elizabeth found a patience and steadiness that was a welcome contrast to the Bennet home, a house held hostage by the chaos and caprice of Elizabeth’s mother and her younger sisters. As for Charlotte, she found in Elizabeth a boldness and spontaneity she often felt she herself lacked.
That said, she knew her friend well enough to know she was a romantic and somewhat judgemental. Of course she was: being judgemental together was one of their favourite pastimes. Howunhappy a circumstance to now be the subject of that censure, when ordinarily they would share in it.
As Charlotte was a just a few steps from the doors of Longbourn, Elizabeth herself opened them and welcomed her with a wide smile. ‘Oh, Charlotte! Come in! Oh, I feel like I could sing!’
‘Please don’t!’ Charlotte replied teasingly, pleased to find her friend in high spirits. ‘What has brought on such drastic behaviour?’
